


Wordless

by UniverseInk



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: IDK it's a thing, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Mute Whiskey, Soulmate AU, This is mostly not angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-14
Updated: 2017-07-14
Packaged: 2018-12-02 03:37:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11500983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UniverseInk/pseuds/UniverseInk
Summary: In a world where everyone gets their soulmate's first words to them marked on their skin, Will has nothing.Soulmate AU in which Whiskey is mute.





	Wordless

**Author's Note:**

> I thought of this and wrote it all in one sitting this morning, so it might get edited later. Anyways, enjoy.

On his thirteenth birthday, Will waited anxiously for his soulmark to appear. His parents said it would hurt, but by the end of the day, the first words his soulmate would speak to him would be written across his chest, over his heart.  
Only, the day passed, and there is no pain. His mom fussed a little, but his dad only made a couple jokes about Will having a high pain tolerance. When he took off his shirt that night, having been too nervous to check before then, there’s nothing.   
Will went back out to the living room where his mom was still up, watching TV.  
“What’s up, honey?” she asked.  
“What- what does it mean if you don’t have a soulmark?” Her eyebrows furrowed.  
“I’ve heard of it happening, but it’s pretty rare. I’m not sure… Will, honey, do you not..?” Will shook his head, and his mom stood and enveloped him in a hug.  
“I’m sorry sweetheart. I’m sorry.”

By the time Will was sixteen, he had learned to be grateful for not having a soulmark. He knew he could never tell his father that he’s gay, and soulmarks tend to have the other person’s name.  
He lied about it to his friends, said he doesn’t want to tell anyone what it says. For the most part, they respect him. A few assholes made comments about him being gay and trying to hide it, but Will had never shied away from a fight, and they learned not to mess with him.  
No one guessed that he has no soulmark.

When Will is eighteen he got to Samwell. He met Chowder, who was cool, and Nursey, who got on his nerves. He gained the nickname Dex, as well as a good group of friends.  
Bitty was the first person he came out to as gay. When Will first met him, he was struggling with a lot of internalized homophobia, but being around someone as openly gay as Bitty helped him a lot.  
He brought it up one day when he was helping Bitty bake a few pies.  
“Um, Bitty, can I tell you something? You can’t tell anyone else, though.”  
“Of course, Dex. Are you okay?”  
“Oh, yeah, it’s nothing bad or anything. It’s just, I’ve never told anyone, and I’m nervous.” Bitty got a knowing look in his eye, and nodded for Will to continue. “I’m gay. And I didn’t really accept that about myself for a really long time, and then I met you, and I thought, if I could tell anyone, I could tell you.”  
“Well, I’m glad you felt safe enough to trust me with this. And I want to assure you that no one on this team is going to hassle you if you ever do come out. And if they try, you send them my way. I happen to know that the boys on this team can be very motivated when I threaten to withhold pie.” Bitty winked, and Will felt a wash of relief.   
“Speaking of this, though, is this why you never let anyone see your soulmark? Cause I did the same thing for a long time.”  
“Oh, uh, yeah,” Will lied. Bitty nodded, and then returned to baking.

At the start of his second year at Samwell, Will met Connor. They meet in the Haus after Bitty gives the tour. Will approached the newcomer and held out his hand.  
“Hey, I’m Will. You can call me Dex though, everyone on the team does.” Connor shook his hand, and then held up a finger and reached for his phone. He typed something out on the screen, and then held it up.  
‘I’m Connor. But I’ve been nicknamed Whiskey, so you can call me that’ the screen reads.  
“Are you deaf?” Will asked without thinking. Connor shook his head, and typed out something else.  
‘I’m mute. I can hear just fine, but I can’t speak. I can communicate with ASL, if you know that’  
“ASL?” Will asked.  
‘American Sign Language’  
“Oh. No, sorry, I don’t know that.” Connor nodded. Then Holster yelled something and drew their attention away.

Over the course of the year, Will and Connor became good friends. It took a while at first, because Connor got overwhelmed by the team’s antics a lot, but they eventually became close. As a result, Will signed up for an online ASL course, and did his best to help Connor communicate.

However, Will was still a little distant with other members of the team. He was close with Bitty and Chowder, and Nursey didn’t get on his nerves as much, but it still happened.  
One day, just after spring break ends, it happened.  
Chowder, Nursey, and Will were hanging out in Chowder’s room at the Haus. Will was complaining about how his parents kept asking him if he had a girlfriend.  
“Oh yeah, must be so tough to know that your parents support you and your sexual orientation,” Nursey quipped, a little angrily. Will’s jaw tightened.  
“Guys, don’t start fighting, please,” Chowder said.  
“I’m not starting anything,” Will said.  
“Come on, can’t a guy express a little frustration about the straightest guy he knows and his bullshit?” Nursey crossed his arms.  
“Just shut the fuck up, Nurse.” Will got up and stormed out of the room. As he passed the kitchen, he bumped into Connor, who gave him a concerned look, and then followed him outside.  
‘Are you okay?’ he typed out on his phone as they walk in no particular direction. Will sighed.  
“I’ll be fine, Nursey’s just getting on my nerves again.” Connor frowned.  
‘I thought you guys worked things out’  
“For the most part, yeah. But sometimes he strikes a nerve. And it’s not really his fault, he doesn’t know.”  
‘Doesn’t know what?’ Will let them into his dorm, and gestured for Connor to sit next to him on the bed.  
“It’s kind of complicated. And it’s not something I really tell people.”  
‘Is it something bad? Are you okay?’  
“Yeah, no, it’s not bad. It’s just… well I wasn’t really planning on telling you yet, but, here goes. I’m gay.” Connor nodded and motioned for Will to continue. “The only other person who knows is Bitty, and everyone else just assumes I’m straight because I come from a super conservative family. I mean, I did kind of lead them in that direction at first, but…  
“Well, today, I was talking to Nursey and Chowder about how i was annoyed about my parents asking if I had a girlfriend. And then Nursey made a stupid quip about my parents supporting my sexual orientation, ‘cause he thinks I’m straight. But the truth is I could never tell my parents. I mean, my mom might understand, but my dad? Never.”  
‘I’m sorry. That sounds tough. But I want you to know that I support you, and I won’t tell anyone’  
“Thanks.” Connor hesitated for a moment, and then types out something else.  
‘You really don’t need to worry about me judging you. I’m gay too.’  
“Really? Are you out to anyone?”  
‘My parents, and a few friends from home. But you’re the first person here’  
“Oh, okay. Are your parents… supportive?”  
‘They try to be, but they don’t always get it right’  
“Oh.” Connor put a hand on Will’s shoulder and gave him a rare smile.

Will’s third year at Samwell started without much trouble, which was surprising, given that he was sharing a small living space with Nursey. However, they had both mellowed out on the arguing front, and Dex had long since stopped deliberately pushing his new roommate’s buttons.  
Bitty was doing well as team captain, and Will was spending a lot of time with Connor. He had realized over the summer that he had a crush on his teammate, but with his lack of soulmark, he didn’t even think about initiating a relationship.   
When Will had told his father about his lack of soulmark, the man had gotten very quiet, and then he said something that Will would never forget.  
“Maybe you just can’t love anyone.”  
Will didn’t want it to be true, but it had eventually settled into him. He spent years trying to convince himself that he would be okay without love. But now there was Connor, and Will wasn’t so sure anymore.

This all came to a head one day while Will and Connor were studying in Connor’s dorm. Well, attempting to study. Eventually, Whiskey turned away from the paper he was trying to write, and started signing, as Will was at the point where he could mostly understand him.  
‘Do you ever think about your soulmate?’  
“Sorry, what was that last sign?”  
‘Soulmate’ Connor typed out.  
“Oh. Uh, I try not to.”  
‘Why? Are you still ashamed of being gay?’  
“No, no it’s… something else. But I don’t really tell people.”  
‘Can you tell me?’ Will sighed, and eventually nodded his head.  
“So, you know everyone gets their soulmark when they’re thirteen, and it hurts a bunch, right?” Connor nodded. “My whole birthday, I kept waiting for that pain, but it never came. I don’t have a soulmark.” Connor had a strange look on his face.  
‘Do you know why?’  
“No. My dad said… well, maybe it’s just that I can’t love.”  
‘Did you ever consider that maybe your soulmate will just never speak to you?’ Will opened his mouth to speak, but Connor continued. ‘I’ve been nervous to tell you this, because Will is such a common name, and I wasn’t sure, but my soul mark says the first words you ever said to me’ Will looks shocked, and Connor pulls up his shirt, revealing the phrase ‘Hey, I’m Will.’ written just above his heart.  
“So wait, if I’m your soulmate, then I don’t have a mark because you’re mute?” Will gave a nervous laugh. Connor smiled.  
‘Sounds about right to me’ Will laughed again, this time happily.  
“Can I kiss you?”  
‘Yes’ Will leaned in, cupping a hand around Connor’s cheek, and pressed their lips together.

**Author's Note:**

> Here you go, a happy, sappy ending.


End file.
